The Scourge of the Demon Hunters—Act 24

“Good morning, my Lord,” said Sebastian as he entered Ciel’s room. “Here is your morning tea.”

Sebastian poured the tea as Ciel pulled himself up to sit against his pillows. Handing him the cup and saucer, Sebastian continued, “Did you sleep well, young master?”

“Yes, thank you, Sebastian, it was very quiet last night.” Taking a sip of his tea, Ciel added, “I take it you managed to keep your hands off each other last night?”

Sebastian smirked, “Not at all, my Lord, we were just quiet, as commanded.”

Ciel’s brow furrowed, but he said nothing.

“I do have a request, if I may, my Lord?” said Sebastian as he collected Ciel’s clothing and laid it out.

“A request?” Ciel replied apprehensively.

“I would like your permission to try to remove the tattoo from Miss Louisa’s neck.”

Ciel stared at his butler; that was not anywhere near what he had expected. Seeing Ciel’s confusion, Sebastian continued, “As her guardian, as well as my master, something like this, which has the potential to do Miss Louisa harm, must have your explicit consent before it can be attempted.”

“You are basing your ability to achieve this on Undertaker’s information?”

“Yes, my Lord, if he is right, then it can be removed, and Miss Louisa can be free of her last physical remembrance of the Order.”

“If he is wrong? What did he even mean, there was enough of you in her?” Ciel regretted the words, even as they spilt from his mouth.

A fleeting smirk crossed Sebastian’s face before he composed himself and answered. “If he is wrong, then I will stop as soon as the pain becomes too much for Miss Louisa. As to your second question, short of answers that you do not really want to hear, I do not know what he meant, my Lord.”

Ciel was relieved that he had not been subjected to the details, or at least most of him was. He shook the thought from his head. “You have my blessing; we will both go to her with the news as soon as I am dressed, breakfast can wait today.”

A conflicted Sebastian bowed, “Yes, my Lord, as you wish.” While glad that he could honour Louisa’s wish, there was a small part of him that had wanted Ciel to refuse, to order him not to try for fear of the pain it would cause Louisa.

******

At the other end of the hallway, Mey-Rin knocked on Louisa’s door and entered with the tea tray. She placed it carefully on the table before looking over to see that Louisa was still asleep. Louisa lay naked, tangled in her disheveled sheets; at least Mey-Rin could see no new marks on her today that would need to be covered by a careful choice of dress. Mey-Rin smiled to herself as she turned to pour the tea. She had guessed that Sebastian had feelings for Louisa from the moment she first saw them together, the marks on Louisa and the strange noises around the house just confirmed it really.

As she turned back, she jumped. Louisa sat upright in the bed looking at her. Mey-Rin started to shake; she held the cup and saucer in both hands and carefully placed it on the table. Louisa smiled.

“How long have you known?”

“Known, M'Lady? I don’t understand, no, I don’t.”

“Mey-Rin, you are the only person, except for him, that sees me naked, you see and help to cover every mark that appears on me, and always without saying a word or shaking, generally. So, either you know, or you are incredibly silly, and I do not think it is the latter.”

“I guessed M’Lady, soon after you arrived. Mr Sebastian was different with you here, yes, he was, not so stern all the time. But I haven’t said anything, no, not to anyone.”

“Well, you guessed right and were right not to say anything. Lord Ciel knows, but no one outside the household must know, it could cause a great deal of trouble for us all.”

Mey-Rin nodded, “Yes, M’lady, I understand, I do.” As she finished, there was a knock at the door. Louisa felt Sebastian’s presence and motioned for Mey-Rin to open the door. Seeing that her cousin accompanied him, she quickly pulled the covers up and over her fully.

“Cousin, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company first thing in the morning?” she asked.

Ciel’s face had gone bright red as noted his cousin’s nightgown on the floor and realised that she was naked under the covers. Seeing his discomfort, Louisa grinned, “If you would turn around for the moment, I will get Mey-Rin to pass my nightgown and dressing gown.”

Ciel turned immediately, while Sebastian was a little slower, only moving after a warning look from Ciel. Moments later, Louisa said, “Now, that should be more appropriate and cause a little less discomfort. You may turn around now.”

Ciel turned and sat in the chair facing Louisa, while Sebastian took up his normal position behind him. Mey-Rin stood in the middle of the room, shuffling her feet and looking increasingly uncomfortable. It was Sebastian that spoke first.

“Mey-Rin, you may leave now, I will call you when Miss Louisa needs you.”

“Yes, Mr Sebastian, Sir, right away.”

No one spoke as they listened to Mey-Rin’s footsteps disappear down the hallway. Louisa looked at her cousin, wary of the reason for his early morning visit. Finally, Ciel spoke.

“I have given my consent for Sebastian to try to remove the tattoo; I believe that is what you want?”

“Yes, cousin, it is,” replied Louisa, relieved by both the answer and the reason for the visit.

“I have only one caveat,” Ciel continued, “If I believe that there is a real risk to you, it stops, I will command Sebastian to stop. You understand that he cannot disobey a direct command?”

“Yes, cousin, I understand.”

“Then, Sebastian, you may proceed.”

Sebastian moved from behind the chair and took the towel that lay folded on the dressing table, “As you wish my Lord.” Approaching Louisa, he continued, “To do this, I am going to need full access to your neck and for you to stay completely still and in human form.” Louisa could feel the worry and fear building in him again, yet his face portrayed none of it.

“Ok, so how do you want me?” Louisa grinned as she spoke, and Sebastian’s mood lightened just a little.

Sitting on the bed next to her, he smirked and replied, “Across my knees. You will need to remove the dressing gown.”

Ciel shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Louisa removed the dressing gown and knelt at the side of Sebastian. He become even more uncomfortable as Sebastian removed his belt from his trousers.

“Sebastian, what the hell are you doing?” shouted Ciel.

“Not what I would want to be doing with Miss Louisa in this position and my belt removed, I can assure you, my Lord.” Ciel opened his mouth to admonish his butler, but Sebastian spoke quickly to clarify his intention.

“I need Miss Louisa to stay in human form; should she transform, I will not be able to see the tattoo against her skin. The belt is for her to bite down on in the hope that should the process start to hurt, she will be able to focus on that and stop any transformation. The alternative is for her to hold your hand but knowing the strength of her grip, she may do you a serious injury, and as I cannot allow that, this is the best alternative.”

Ciel heard the frustration in his butler’s voice and wisely chose to say nothing. He nodded his understanding, sat back and wished he had never agreed to any of this, let alone chosen to stay.

Louisa placed the belt between her teeth and lay across Sebastian’s legs, facing her cousin. Allowing her head to hang loosely, she placed one hand on the bed and the other on the floor to help steady her. Her previous experience in this position had been much more fun than she anticipated this one was going to be.

Sebastian stroked her hair, moving it to one side. Placing the towel at the base of the tattoo, he traced the outline with the tip of one finger. “Are you ready, my love?” Louisa nodded almost imperceptibly. Sebastian focused on the tattoo, seeing beyond the intricate patterns that had once sealed her powers and her memories. He cleared all of that from his mind until all he saw were the particles of ink that lay fused with Louisa’s skin. Placing his finger at the bottom of the tattoo, he connected it with the ink, drawing it away from the skin, separating the two and lifting away the ink. It was working. He pulled the separated matter over to the towel and continued to pull, drawing out more of the ink.

Louisa felt pressure on her neck, burning as if a candle flame had been placed too close to her skin. Then, pulling, wrenching as the ink began to lift. She bit down into the belt as the pain bit deep into her. Determined she wasn’t going to cry out or move or do anything that would encourage Ciel to stop what was happening.

She remembered the pain of having the tattoo placed on her neck. The first part, the seal, had been done forcibly just after she had arrived. She had fought them at every stage until they tied her down and left her unable to move; she had screamed, cried, begged them to stop, she was only a child, she didn’t understand what they were doing and had blocked the memory for years. Only when she had willingly gained her mark after killing her father had she remembered the process. That time, she did not cry out or need to be held, she had stay motionless, determined that they would gain no satisfaction from her suffering. It was the same determination that kept her still as the pain burned through her.

Ciel watched in horror, unable to look away as the stream of black ink left Louisa’s neck and trailed onto the towel. Not once did Sebastian’s gaze leave the mark, and not a sound came from Louisa. He was in awe at their determination and connection, and more than a little afraid of what the two could achieve if they ever set their minds to it. That fear sent shivers down his spine and left him relieved that while the contract was in place, he at least had the power to command Sebastian, and that meant a level of control over them both.

Silence filled the room, with all three almost afraid to breathe. Sebastian pulled the last strands of the ink from Louisa’s neck, his arm ached, and his jaw hurt from where he realised that he had been clenching his teeth so hard. As the last of the ink left his finger and settled on the towel, he grasped it and threw it on the floor.

“It is done,” he said, gently grasping Louisa by the shoulders and guiding her back across his legs to the floor by the side of him. He could see now that her face was wet with tears and her eyes red with the effort that had been needed to stay still, quiet, and in her human form. She took the belt from between her teeth and let it drop to the floor, exhaustion overtaking her. Sebastian leant down, scooped her into his arms and lifted her onto his lap. Holding her tight to his chest, he looked at Ciel, almost daring him to complain. Ciel, for his part, had no intention of saying or doing anything to stop the display of affection, his mind still raced at what he had just witnessed. Even after all this time with the demon at his side, he still did not truly comprehend the full nature of his abilities.

Sebastian kissed Louisa’s head and wiped away the tears from her face. “How do you feel, my love?” he asked.

Louisa looked up at Sebastian, “I’m not sure, tired, hungry, in need of you,” Louisa replied, momentarily forgetting that Ciel was sat there.

Ciel coughed gently just to remind them of his presence. “I believe we should leave Louisa to rest, don’t you, Sebastian?”

“Yes, my Lord, you are quite right.” Sebastian lifted her off his lap and placed her back in the bed. “I will see to the master’s breakfast and then bring you something, if that is okay with you, my Lord?” He turned to look at Ciel as he spoke.

“Yes, given the rest of today promises to be no less stressful, I think that would be fine.”